26-08-2020 (Captain Frederick Young settled Mussoorie)

Captain Frederick Young settled Mussoorie
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Dinesh Kukreti
Mussoorie is known in seven major cities of the world in the early nineteenth century.  All those facilities were present here, which used to be in England at that time.  However, all this was possible thanks to Captain Frederick Young.  When he came to Mussoorie, he became an officer of the British Army, but he liked this place so much that he lived here for the whole 40 years and was busy in building it.

Tehri princely victory won in war with Gurkhas
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 Frederick Young was born on 30 November 1786 in Donegal Province, Ireland.  At the age of 18, he joined the British Army and came to India.  Here he played an important role in the expansion of the British Empire and conquered many Indian princely states as well as defeated and defeated Tipu Sultan in South India.  In the year 1814, Captain Young was transferred to Dehradun.  Then there was a war between the Tehri princely state and the Gorkha army.  For this the King of Tehri sought the help of the English army.  In the first phase of this war, which lasted about one and a half months, many officers of the English army were killed, including Major General Robert Rollo Jilipsi.  Captain Young was then his assistant.  After Jilapsi's death, he took command of the army.  Under his leadership, an army was called from places like Saharanpur, Ludhiana, Gorakhpur and again attacked the impregnable fort of Khalanga.  Then 18-pound shells were fired from the cannon, causing the fort to collapse.  The war ended on 30 November 1814 with the defeat of the Gorkha army.  Under a treaty when the Gurkhas migrated from here to Himachal, Tehri Maharaj gave half of the state to the British.  This part was called British Garhwal.

Sirmour regiment of standing in Himachal
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After this war, Captain Frederick Young fought the Gorkha army in Himachal Pradesh also.  He saw that the Gurkhas are courageous and brave, so with the help of the Hukumat, they formed the Sirmour Regiment and then formed the Gorkhas as their regiment.  Later, with the help of this regiment, the British asserted their authority over many princely states of the country.

Captain Young was fascinated by the beauty of Mussoorie
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After becoming a General in the Army, Captain Young started the work of settling Mussoorie in the year 1823.  Then the British used to come to hunt in the forests of Mussoorie.  Captain Young found the place similar to Ireland in every respect.  The beauty and climate here fascinated him.  So they decided to camp in Mussoorie itself.  First of all, he built a shooting range at Malingar in Mussoorie and also built a slum-like mud house for himself in the year 1825.  He persuaded the British officers to set up a sanatorium for the soldiers.  In the year 1827 it became a sanatorium and then the British started settling here.  Young also played an important role in the formation of the Mussoorie Municipality.

 'Sister market' is also a gift of Young
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Captain Young wanted to build a barrack and hospital for soldiers on the high hill of Mussoorie (now Landour Cantt).  For this, he first consulted his superiors and took them into confidence and then started the work of building a hospital.  The hospital was named British Military Hospital.  Here, mainly soldiers of the English army wounded in the war were treated.  Along with this, residential complexes were also built here for nurses and sistars who treated and cared for the injured.  That is why later this market came to be known as 'sister market'.

 Officers did not leave Mussoorie to persuade Young
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 Captain Young is also credited with settling Mussoorie because on his persuasion, the British high command agreed to remain in Mussoorie.  In fact, the English army officer William Bentick had decided to leave the place, saying Mussoorie was not favorable to the British administration.  In such a situation, Captain Young assured him not only that he took the responsibility of developing Mussoorie as a magnificent hill station and military depot, but also showed it by completion.

Young started potato and tea farming
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Potato and tea cultivation in Mussoorie is also attributed to Captain Young.  It is said that before 1827, there was no potato anywhere in Garhwal-Kumaon.  Potatoes were then grown only in Young's native Ireland.  While Captain Young built his hut in Malingar, Mussoorie, he also built a potato field in front of the courtyard.  After this, potato cultivation started in various places in Uttarakhand.

Tha Young's 'Donegal House' in Rajpur village
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Captain Young lived in Mussoorie for nearly 40 years.  Later he also became a superintendent of Dehradun.  He used to have a splendid residence in Rajpur village near Dehradun under the name 'Donegal House'.  However, he does not currently exist.  Even today, the route which connects Mussoorie via Jharipani through Rajpur-Shahanshahi Ashram was built by Captain Young.  In Mussoorie, the construction material for the huge water pump, power house and all the buildings was then transported from Rajpur-Jharipani road to Mussoorie and Landour Cantt.